Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Nuflare Technology, Inc.

Advanced Mask Inspection Technology Inc.

Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon

Nec Corporation

Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.

Shinji Sugihara

Riki Ogawa

Junji Oaki

Hideto Ando

Toshiyuki Watanabe

Ikunao Isomura

Hideo Tsuchiya

Toru Tojo

Akihiko Sekine

Fumihito Koike

Kyoji Yamashita

Kazuhiro Nakashima

Yuichi Nakatani

Masayuki Obana

Masamitsu Itoh

Yoshinori Honguh

Masataka Shiratsuchi

Hiromu Inoue

Masatoshi Hirono

Mitsuo Tabata

Shinichi Sasaki

Yasushi Sanada

Yasushi Watanabe

Ken-Ichi Murooka

Kota Asatsuma

Shuji Maekawa

A defect inspection apparatus includes an imaging mechanism for imaging a sample; an image acquisition circuit configured to generate an inspection image based on image data of the sample imaged by the imaging mechanism; a development circuit configured to generate a developed image from design data; a reference image generation circuit that includes a resizing process circuit configured to perform pattern classification from the developed image, and execute a resizing process for the developed image based on a resizing amount set for each classification, and that is configured to generate a reference image using the developed image after the resizing process; and a comparison circuit configured to compare the inspection image with the reference image.

Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection method

Method for searching a hole pattern in image includes extracting, from an image where a hole pattern is formed, plural outline position candidates serving as candidates for plural positions where an outline of the hole pattern passes, generating, for each pixel in a region including the plural outline position candidates, a distance map which defines, for each of plural directions, a distance from each of the plural outline position candidates to each of pixels arrayed in a target direction of the plural directions, extracting a candidate for a center pixel of the hole pattern by using the distance map generated for each direction, and searching, in the plural outline position candidates, a group of outline position candidates which satisfies a predetermined condition in the case of using the candidate for the center pixel as a starting point, as plural outline positions where the outline of the hole pattern passes.

Method for searching for hole pattern in image, pattern inspection method, pattern inspection apparatus, and apparatus for searching hole pattern in image

According to one aspect of the present invention, a pattern inspection apparatus includes a circuit configured to perform, for each direction, filter processing on the image, using a plurality of two-dimensional spatial filter functions with different orientations; a circuit configured to extract a plurality of pixels each having a predetermined value larger than a first threshold, in pixel values each for the each direction of after the filter processing, as a plurality of outline pixel candidates through which an outline of the figure pattern passes; and a circuit configured to extract a plurality of outline pixels from the plurality of outline pixel candidates by excluding outline pixel candidates each of which has a differential value, greater than or equal to a second threshold, obtained by differentiating a pixel value of before the filter processing in a second direction orthogonal to a first direction corresponding to the predetermined value.

Pattern inspection apparatus and pattern outline position acquisition method

According to one aspect of the present invention, a pattern inspection apparatus includes: a profile extraction circuit configured to extract each of a plurality of predetermined dimensional profiles for a plurality of pixels with a value of a differential intensity greater than or equal to a threshold value in the image; a wavelet transform circuit configured to perform, on each of the plurality of predetermined dimensional profiles, a wavelet transform while changing a scale variable of a mother wavelet function to a predetermined value; and a contour position extraction circuit configured to extract, for the each of the plurality of predetermined dimensional profiles, a maximum peak position as a contour position of the figure pattern from peak positions of a plurality of transformed profiles of after the wavelet transform in which the scale variable is set.

Pattern inspection apparatus and pattern inspection method

A multiple electron beam irradiation apparatus includes a first region setting circuit which sets a first frame region of a plurality of first frame regions which can be irradiated with remaining beams after excluding beams in one row and one column at end; a second region setting circuit which sets a second frame region of a plurality of second frame regions each having four corners equivalent to an irradiation position of the defective beam by using normal beams; and an electron beam irradiation mechanism which performs the first multiple electron beam irradiation processing for the each of the plurality of first frame regions of the target object by using the normal beams, and perform second multiple electron beam irradiation processing for each of the plurality of second frame regions by using at least beams at the four corners.

Multiple electron beam irradiation apparatus, multiple electron beam inspection apparatus, and multiple electron beam irradiation method

A magnetic sensor includes magnetoresistive elements and a soft magnetic body. The magnetoresistive elements have multi layers including a magnetic layer and a nonmagnetic layer on a substrate, and exert a magnetoresistance effect. The soft magnetic body is electrically disconnected with the magnetoresistive elements, and converts a vertical magnetic field component from the outside into a magnetic field component in a horizontal direction so as to provide the magnetoresistive elements with the horizontally converted magnetic field component. The magnetoresistive elements have a pinned magnetic layer having a fixed magnetization direction and a free magnetic layer having a variable magnetization direction. The free magnetic layer is stacked on the pinned magnetic layer with a nonmagnetic layer interposed between the free magnetic layer and the pinned magnetic layer. The magnetization directions of the pinned magnetic layers of the magnetoresistive elements are the same direction. The magnetoresistive elements form a bridge circuit.

Magnetic sensor

A magnetic sensor includes a non-bias structure element section that has a laminated structure in which a fixed magnetic layer, a non-magnetic material layer, a free magnetic layer, and a protection layer are laminated, and that is extended in an X1-X2 direction; and soft magnetic bodies that are arranged on the element section in a contactless manner. The soft magnetic bodies include a first section, a second section, and a third section. The second section is located on a Y2 side of the element section and the third section is located on a Y1 side thereof. The second section of one of soft magnetic bodies faces the third section of the other soft magnetic body in a Y1-Y2 direction through the element section. An electrode layer is provided on the element section which faces the joint sections of the second section and the third section in the Y1-Y2 direction.

Magnetic sensor for improving hysteresis and linearity

A magnetic sensor having no sensitivity differences between sensitivity axes, and an easy manufacturing method therefor are provided. The method includes a process of forming first stacked films for a magnetoresistive element on a substrate. This element has a sensitivity axis in a certain direction and includes a self-pinned ferromagnetic pinned layer in which first and second ferromagnetic films are antiferromagnetically coupled through an antiparallel coupling layer, a nonmagnetic intermediate layer, and a soft magnetic free layer. The method further includes a process of removing a region of the first stacked films from the substrate. The remaining region of the films includes at least a region to be left to form the element. The method furthermore includes a process of forming second stacked films for a magnetoresistive element, which has a sensitivity axis in a direction different from the certain direction and has the same structure, on the exposed substrate.

Method for manufacturing a magnetic sensor

A defect detection method comprising, irradiating light from a light source in an optical system and obtaining a plurality of optical images of a sample having a repeated pattern of a size smaller than a resolution of the optical system; while changing the conditions of the optical system, performing correction processing for the optical images with the use of at least one of a noise filter and a convolution filter; shifting a position of the other optical images based on any of the plurality of optical images, obtaining a relationship between shift amounts of the other optical images and a change of correlation of a gray scale value between the plurality of optical images, and performing positional alignment of the optical images based on the shift amount obtained when the correlation is highest, performing defect detection of the sample with the use of the optical images after the positional alignment.

Defect detection method

A magnetic sensor includes a plurality of magnetoresistive elements that are formed by stacking a magnetic layer and a non-magnetic layer on a substrate and that exhibit a magnetoresistive effect and a soft magnetic member that converts a vertical magnetic field component into a horizontal magnetic field component. The soft magnetic member is formed of a plurality of first and second soft magnetic portions respectively extending in an X1-X2 direction and a Y1-Y2 direction, combined together in the shape of a lattice. The magnetoresistive elements have a sensitivity direction in the Y2 direction and include a magnetoresistive element located on a Y1 side portion side of the first soft magnetic portion and a magnetoresistive element located on a Y2 side portion side of the first soft magnetic portion, respectively receiving horizontal magnetic field components from the Y1 direction and Y2 direction.

A magnetic detecting device includes a first and a second magnetoresistive element, and a first and a second fixed resistor connected in series to the first and the second magnetoresistive element, respectively. The first and the second magnetoresistive element each include a pinned magnetic layer and a free magnetic layer with a nonmagnetic conductive layer in between. The first and the second magnetoresistive element have the same layer structure except that the nonmagnetic conductive layers have different thicknesses. The thicknesses of the nonmagnetic conductive layers are set so that a positive interlayer coupling magnetic field acts between the free magnetic layer and the pinned magnetic layer of the first magnetoresistive element and a negative interlayer coupling magnetic field acts between the free magnetic layer and the pinned magnetic layer of the second magnetoresistive element. The first and the second fixed resistor have the same layer structure.

Magnetic detecting device and method for manufacturing the same

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for correcting an inspection reference pattern image in order to properly inspect a pattern image of a specimen. The pattern image correcting apparatus is characterized by including: a first pattern synthesizing unit for synthesizing an assist pattern image and a pattern image to be inspected, thereby generating a pattern image to be inspected with an assist pattern; an assist pattern shift processor; a second pattern synthesizing unit for synthesizing the shifted assist pattern image and the inspection reference pattern image, thereby generating an inspection reference pattern image with an assist pattern; a model generating unit for generating a position shift model by using the pattern image to be inspected with the assist pattern and the inspection reference pattern image with the assist pattern; and a correction pattern image computing unit for correcting the inspection reference pattern image.

Pattern image correcting apparatus, pattern inspection apparatus, and pattern image correcting method

In an automatic focus adjusting mechanism, a test sample having a patterned surface is mounted on a mount table, and an light beam passing through a slit formed in a field stop is applied to the patterned surface of the test sample. The light beam reflected from the test sample is split into two segment light beams. Focus adjusting aperture stops having respective apertures formed rhomboid are provided across the optical paths of the segment light beams. The amounts of the segment light beams passing through the rhomboid apertures are detected by light receiving units. Based on the difference between the detected light amounts, the position of the mount table is controlled by the focus adjusting unit.

Automatic focus adjusting mechanism and optical image acquisition apparatus

A magnetic detection device includes a sensor unit including a sensor pattern having a plurality of magnetoresistance effect films whose ends in the length direction thereof are coupled via return portions, and electrode units formed at both ends of the sensor pattern in the longitudinal direction thereof. A non-magnetic conductor is electrically connected across a top surface of one of a pair of magnetoresistance effect films that are coupled via the corresponding one of the return portions and that face each other and a top surface of the other magnetoresistance effect film. Therefore, the resistance value between the electrode units can be adjusted without increasing the dimensions of the sensor unit, and deterioration or variation in magnetic characteristics can be reduced.

Magnetic detection device

An image correction device for use in a pattern inspection apparatus is disclosed, which has automatic adaptability to variations in density of a pattern image of a workpiece being tested. The device is operable to identify a two-dimensional (2D) linear predictive model parameters from the pattern image of interest and determine the value of a total sum of these identified parameters. This value is then used to switch between a corrected pattern image due to the 2D linear prediction modeling and a corrected image that is interpolated by bicubic interpolation techniques. A pattern inspection method using the image correction technique is also disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Shinji Sugihara